5 Steps for a Typical Home Health Care Visit

Posted on August 20, 2019

Injuries are never a good thing. Some are minor and can be recovered from fairly quickly. Others take a while.

Many injuries require a stay in the hospital for recovery, especially if surgery is involved. Though you may be discharged from the hospital, some issues require that you receive health treatment at home to ensure a full recovery.

These are generally severe injuries, and home health care is typically for the more elderly members of society. It isn’t always the case, however, and every case is different.

If you or a loved one is receiving home health care there are some general things you can expect with a typical visit for home health care, but remember that as I noted, every case can be different, so visits may vary.

Check-Up

This step is much like getting a check-up at your doctor’s office. The nurse will take check your vitals and ask about how you are doing.

This step is important so there can be an established baseline of where your health is at. Improvements and setbacks are easily noted if regular check-ups are conducted.

Follow-Up

After the general check-up, the nurse will likely follow-up with you on your specific treatment. This is a very important step so that your medical team can know how things are working.

A follow-up will likely involve a lot of detailed questions. They would first confirm you are regularly doing what you need to be doing (taking medication, physical therapy, etc) and then ask a lot of specific questions to get a good idea of what is working and what is not.

Evaluation

The evaluation stage is the moment of truth. Is the treatment working, or at least having a positive effect? Is it not moving as fast as they would like? Are there other options that might be more effective?

Based on the follow-up results, your medical team will decide if the treatment needs to be continued, escalated, or lessened. There are a variety of different people involved, your nurse, physician, physical therapist, etc. in making sure you get the help you need.

New Treatments

If the evaluation deemed that you need additional or new treatments that will be discussed and explained to you. Your medical team will ensure you understand and feel comfortable with any changes being made.

This will also happen when you reach the next step in your recovery plan. You will be walked through what will happen to ensure transparency and understanding.

Coordination

As mentioned before, there are a lot of different people that could potentially assist you. Your physician, nurse, physical therapist, social worker, and clergy are some common examples.

Changes and updates will be coordinated with all the members of your team, as appropriate, to ensure that everyone is on the same page and working in the most effective manner towards returning you to good health and independence.

Conclusion

Home health care can be a great option for those with serious illnesses, diseases, or those who have had major operations. Home health care provides quality health care in the walls of your own home. The processes in place will help a team work together to get you back to where you want to be, healthy, happy, and strong.